Quills Reviews

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Good Points: Well rounded plot
Interesting story
Excellent acting by most of cast

Bad Points: Miscasting of Jaochim Pheonix
Strange accents of cast

General comments: Spectacular settings and excellent costumes recreate the strange confines of the Maquis de Sade's asylum home for the final years of his life in the film, 'Quills'. Only the strange miscasting of Joachim Pheonix as the naive young Abbe detracts from the depraved atmosphere of the lunacy, although he does his best with what he's given! The film is lewd in the extreme and, at times, verges on the fine line between "porn" and art, but the big name cast lends credibility. Geoffrey Rush is excellent in his sympathetic portrayal of the sad, mad Maquis, and Kate Winslett shines as Madeleine, the virginal laundrymaid. The script is almost too well rounded, dotting every "i" and crossing every "t". Nothing is left to the imagination; every storyline is finished. This left little time, in the 2 hour plus film, to flesh out the characters. Michael Caine, one felt, could have been less sympathetic a character and more the evil doctor he was meant to portray. Madeleine ended up more as a foil for the other characters in the film rather than the main female character she should have been.
All in all, an entertaining film with humour and pathos and fairly explicit sexual scenes. Given the subject matter, one shouldn't be surprised by the violence and lewd scenes. Not a film to take the mother-in-law to but certainly one to enjoy.